The balanced complete ionic equation for the reaction
HCHO2(aq) + KOH (aq) is
2H +(aq) +OH- (aq) → H2O(l)
Explanation
Step 1: write a balanced molecular equation
HCHO2(aq) +KOH (aq) → KCHO2(aq) +H2O (l)
Step 2: break all soluble electrolyte into ions
that is H+(aq) + CHO2-(aq) + K+ (aq) + OH-(aq)→ K +(aq) +CHO2- + H2O(l)
Step 3 : cancel the spectator ions in both side
that is CHO2- and K+
Step 4: write the net ionic equation
2H+ (aq) + OH- (aq)→ H2O (l)
Taking into account the definition of net ionic equation, the total ionic equation is:
H⁺ + CHO₂⁻ + K⁺ + OH⁻ → K⁺ + CHO₂⁻ + H₂O
and the net ionic equation is:
H⁺ + OH⁻ → H₂O
The net ionic equation is a chemical equation for a reaction that lists only the species that participate in the reaction.
In other words, an ionic equation is a chemical equation where electrolytes in aqueous solution are written as dissociated ions.
In this case, the balanced reaction is:
HCHO₂ (aq) + KOH (aq) → KCHO₂ (aq) + H₂O (l)
where (aq) means aqueous and (l) liquid.
Breaking all soluble electrolyte into ions, the total ionic equation in separated aqueous solution will be:
H⁺ + CHO₂⁻ + K⁺ + OH⁻ → K⁺ + CHO₂⁻ + H₂O
A spectator ion is an ion that appears both as a reactant and as a product in an ionic equation.
Spectator ions can be either cations (positively charged ions) or anions (negatively charged ions).
When writing a net ionic equation, spectator ions found in the original equation are ignored. Thus, the total ionic reaction is different from the net chemical reaction.
In this case, K⁺ and CHO₂⁻ are the spectator ions because they appear unchanged in both the product and the reagent. So these ions cancel out by writing the net ionic equation and you get:
H⁺ + OH⁻ → H₂O
In summary, the total ionic equation is:
H⁺ + CHO₂⁻ + K⁺ + OH⁻ → K⁺ + CHO₂⁻ + H₂O
and the net ionic equation is:
H⁺ + OH⁻ → H₂O
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